Out of the Heart

Released: Wednesday, February 06, 2019

In a stunning display of cold-heartedness, Virginia Delegate Kathy Tran (D-Fairfax County) testified in favor of infanticide and later tried to backtrack, claiming the legislation she sponsored wouldn’t actually legalize infanticide; but here’s where she’s wrong.

In addition to making late-term abortions “easier” to access (requiring only one physician’s directive to kill an unborn baby in the third trimester vs. the three-physician-agreement currently on the books), HB2491 would make another small but deadly change to the Virginia Code.

Currently, Section 18.2-74.When abortion or termination of pregnancy lawful after second trimester of pregnancy, Subsection (c) reads, “In Measures for life support for the product of such abortion or miscarriage must be available and utilized if there is any clearly visible evidence of viability.”

Del. Tran proposes changing the “must” to read “shall,” which courts (including the U.S. Supreme Court) have interpreted to mean “may.” In other words, if a physician and/or mother don’t want to save the life of her newly born child in the case of “any clearly visible evidence of viability,” the baby could legally be left to die.

Governor Ralph Northam endorsed the “option” of letting a born child die. “If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated IF that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.” He later stood by his comments at the end of a press briefing.

As she answered Chairman Todd Gilbert’s questions (before the House Courts Sub-Committee #4), Del. Tran testified her proposed legislation would legalize killing an unborn baby if the mother were in labor and dilated. After video recording of her testimony went viral, Del. Tran tried to backtrack but admitted to the Washington Post that she indeed testified in favor of “infanticide” (HER word) in the hearing. One of the co-sponsors, a nurse practitioner, even withdrew her name from the legislation.

Elsewhere in the interview, Del. Tran claimed she “misspoke” and “wishes she had been quicker on my feet” and “more agile in that moment.” She then denies that her bill would have legalized abortion if the mother were in labor. In fact and reality, Del. Tran’s legislation would have removed the three-physician safeguard for late-term abortions and removed the necessity to care for a child who survives a botched late-term abortion or miscarriage.

To clarify: in her interview, Delegate Kathy Tran admitted she endorsed “infanticide” in her testimony, expressed regret that she didn’t think quickly enough to mislead or misdirect the committee about the content of her legislation, then claimed to readers that her bill doesn’t actually do what she intended it to do—allow a viable, born child to die.

“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34). Thank you for your prayers and support of VAIB. Together, we must not let the true nature of these leaders and their policies be swept aside and covered up.